This just feels like a forum where we should have some guy named "Barnacle_Bob."

Rule number one of the rules of the road.

If it is bigger than you it's got the right of way.

Sure under some circumstances the rules may say you are the one with the right of way. But size difference is a matter of physics not law. If you go head to head with something the size of a tanker you will lose.

When I was on a sub we were coming into port. Some idiot in a sailboat decided to claim right of way. Well a warship always has the right of way. But besides that we could not have maneuvered well enough or stopped fast enough. He finally realized he would lose and veered off. If he had not he would have been run over.

Not "Barnacle Bill"?

Ooops, did I type "Bob?"

I meant "Bill."

Who the hell ever heard of a "Barnacle Bob?" Must be some wannabe who hijacked my computer.

What you were trying to quote is: "The Law of Gross Tonnage"!

Sorry to disagree, a warship does not always have the right of way. This is a fable told by those in the Navy who interpret the Rules in their favor. It causes problems.

I really want to find those sailboat salesman that keep telling their clients that, "Sailboats always have the Right of Way", WRONG!

Check the Rules of the Road concerning "Right of Way Heirarchy". It explains who has the Right of Way under what circumstances.

I also want to get my hands around the throats of those VHF-FM radio salesman that tell people that the radio only works on the "High Power" setting.

I also want to get my hands around the throats of those fisherman who have immigrated to the states (after 1975) that believe they have to "sing to the shrimp" on Ch 16 VHF-FM, on HIGH POWER, in order to draw the shrimp to them to be caught!!!

I'll get off my soapbox now. Thank-you.
Another Licensed Captain of the Inland, Western Rivers, and Great Lakes Waterways.

You know, I enjoy posts by wildman800 even when they are a little bit scary - no, especially when they are a little bit scary!

But I know what you mean. I sailed small boats a lot growing up. Then I owned and ran a series of small powerboats. I think power boats are often practical, but there's something about sailing that just seems right.

It's kind of like golf: playing from a powered cart is convenient and fun enough, but I always connect with the game better when I walk.

As for military always having the right of way: What happens when a sub returning to Norfolk at night collides with a low lying barge under tow that was extremely difficult to see?

A: The CO loses his job and is replaced. I'm not sure a board of inquiry even recognizes "The Law of Gross Tonnage".

I'd make darn sure that I added a survival or "Gumby" suit for everyone on board to that list, if I was that far off shore. A PFD is fine to keep you afloat, but it's not going to do much to save you from hypothermia. Water temperatures near San Francisco are probably well below 70 degrees fahrenheit, right now. Water temperatures around Nantucket are about 70 now. At a water temp of 70, you may have as little as 2 hours before you are unconscious or totally exhausted. You are unlikely to survive two days at that temperature in a PFD.

I worked on tugs that were mostly in brown water, rarely went into areas that were not considered Inland waters under the Rules of the Road, hardly ever left sight of land, and I cannot recall ever getting as much as 20 miles offshore. We always had Gumby suits on board.

You guys are starting to make me miss the days when I used to go sailing with my grandfather!

Power boat skippers often have a kill switch lanyard clipped to them that shuts off the motor if they fall overboard [or forget and just step away from the helm]. This means the boat may be close enough for a solo skipper overboard to self-rescue, and it certainly announces the man overboard to any crew so they can do a rescue.

Any sailboat equivalent?